Preparing Harry for trial treatment

Preparing Harry for trial treatment

Since Harry got home from hospital two weeks ago, it has been a slow process of building him up again, getting him to eat more and more each day, and him sleeping a lot, but he has had some fun too with family and friends.

On Tuesday I brought Harry to John Radcliffe Hospital for the last planned chemotherapy cycle before we go abroad for the trial. He slept for the whole journey, then slept in a chair in the daycare ward, then was eventually given a bed and continued to sleep, all the time cuddled up to his Mahoosive (Massive) Bengy!

After several observations showing that Harry’s heart rate was slow and blood pressure also low, even when he was awake in the afternoon, they kept an eye on him for a while and delayed starting the chemotherapy. Harry had three ECG’s and bloods taken again. We waited all day but only because the doctors and nurses had to investigate thoroughly before continuing with his chemo, it was later decided that his heart rate should be monitored overnight so we had to stay in! As I said, there is always something! The constant worry is never-ending.

This morning he has had an Echocardiogram and thankfully the consultant said there is no damage to his heart caused by his treatment or medication so far, it is functioning well. This is such a relief as damage to any of Harry’s organs is one of the many possible side effects from his extensive treatment that we constantly worry about, along with everything else. When we sign the green consent forms with all the side effects listed, it’s often best to block this out as we have no choice but to sign despite some of the side effects being terrible (even death on more than a few occasions), because without the surgery, chemotherapy or whatever treatment Harry has had, he would not be with us now. That is the reality of it.

So Harry’s heart rate was low overnight but not dangerously low, and we await further results from blood tests and discussions with his consultant, but they are happy that we can now continue with chemotherapy as planned.

Thank you for your continued love and support and we will keep you updated on next steps in next few days 💙💙💙